The Wife of Bath's Views on Love, Marriage, and Female Supremacy.
The Wife of Bath, as introduced in the General Prologue, is a professed authority on love and a firm believer in the rule of man by woman, and in her own precedence generally. Chaucer describes her as being somewhat deaf; she was also an excellent seamstress and weaver, and she had been on several other pilgrimages. She wore fine clothing, including scarlet red stockings and a large hat; Chaucer points these out to show her availability and her prosperity. The Wife had been married five times already, and Chaucer noted her assertiveness and sensuality as evidenced by the gaps in her teeth.
The Wife of Bath clearly has her own perception of marriage, which Chaucer hints at in his Prologue and fully reveals in the Wife's Prologue and Tale. In both the Prologue and Tale of the Wife, we see the institution of marriage used to control financial and sexual powers. The Wife of Bath displays a complete sense of mockery toward marriage as a holy institution; she also views marriage as a woman's chance to dominate a man.
In her Prologue, the Wife of Bath announces that she believes experience is more important than authority, and she defends her actions of marrying five men. She interprets from Scripture: "But wel I woot, expres, withouten lie, God bade for to wexe and multiplye: That gentil text can I wel understonde. Eek wel I woot he saide that myn housebonde shoulde let fader and moder and take to me, But of no nombre mencion made he-of bigamye or of octogamye; Why shoulde men thanne speke of it vilainye?- (lines 27-34). She uses her multiple marriages as a sort of fulfillment of God's Word. She also .
uses specific examples from Scripture where men had more than one wife: Solomon, Abraham, and Jacob, who were all considered holy, devout men. She then justifies her marriages by citing St. Paul's warning that it is better to marry than to burn.
